Review #77: Luther the Geek (1990)

Cast/Notable Credits:
Carlton Albright (Director)

Stacy Haiduk (Beth): All My Children, Super Boy, Kindred: The Embraced and Hereos T.V. series
Trailer:

Not exactly, but a nice clip:



Plot:

Here’s what the back of the DVD reads:
A young country boy is plunged into the depths of homicidal madness after witnessing the strange exploits of a carnival “geek”, a caged drunk so desperate for whiskey that he bites the heads off live chickens in front of a freak show audience.

Thirty years later, Luther is all grown up and out on parole after spending his childhood behind bars for a series of grisly murders. Armed with a pair of razor-sharp metal dentures and only able to communicate through chicken clucks, Luther restarts his bloody rampage as he terrorizes the citizens of a small town and takes a young mother and her family hostage in their isolated farmhouse.

Featuring one of the most intense endings ever put on film, Luther the Geek is good gory fun in the splatter flick tradition!

Yep, it says it all. How can I top that? Actually it explains the plot better than the movie did. You know when young country boys are “plunged” into the depths of homicidal madness, only one thing can happen…homicidal tendencies. By the way, if you don't know, a "Geek" is an old carnival term. Usually it referred to a man that would bite the heads off chickens, rats or bats (or anything else). It can also be defined as a...nerd. But in this case, the carnival dude with homicidal tendencies.

You may be asking, "Where did you find this one?" Actually it was years ago. About 15 years ago I “plunged” myself down to watch this Troma bad-boy with a couple of friends. It was one of those nights where we decided to go rent a movie, but didn't really have any particular one or genre in mind. I remember strolling through the video story looking for a flick to rent with my friends, and the title caught my eye. So we rented it. So sue me. Luther the Geek. Come on’, who wouldn’t wanna rent this one? It’s like judging a book on its cover, but better. It’s finger-licking good! Boy were we in for a treat. Bad acting and horrible effects, but surprisingly a decent film.

As far as, “Featuring one of the most intense endings ever put on film” I don’t know what movie they were watching. Certainly not this one. I kind of thought the last half of the film kind of, well, sucked. The trooper walking through the barn sequence was drawn out a little too much. Intense...not really. If you look at the "whole" picture, given the production, budget, talent and everything else poured into a movie, then the ending was pretty good. But to call it "one of the most intense endings ever put on film"...yeah, I don't think so. But the film did some justice for the horror genre.

The film’s brilliance has Luther walking around making chicken clucks throughout the film. Bock, Brrrrk Brrrrk Brk. Now that was JUST awesome. To top it off, Luther uses razor sharp metal teeth to bite his victims to death. Pure Grade A writing there folks. The film showcases the finest writing on the Earth, just as golden as the Colonel’s secret recipe.

For this being a Troma film, it actually isn’t that bad or too terribly done. The production quality doesn’t look like a fourth grader with a camcorder filmed it like many of the Troma films I've seen. The film was cut and edited with true professionalism. Even the late Colonel Sanders would have to agree on that. Was it top notch? Well I wouldn't go that far. Just enough to be satisfying.

Amazing film facts:
- Luther the Geek is 3 initials when abbreviated (LTG). Kentucky Fried Chicken is also 3 initials(KFC)

- Chicken is better than meat
- Cops never survive horror movies
- A "model" inmate doesn't exsist
- Life Tastes Better With KFC
- When the credits roll...the film ends!

So grab a bucket of your favorite KFC’s original or crispy flavored chicken and maybe grab a tall malt beverage (not whiskey...it will drive you to bite off chicken heads) sit down and enjoy this masterpiece. There's even a kick-a** shower scene! Followed by a sweet sex scene. Got your attention yet?

Misc. Movie Trivia:
-SFX artist refused credit for the film
- Ed Terry (Luther) is actually 5'7" and 160 lbs, but tricky camera work made him loom larger than what he was
-Filmed in Iowa & Illinois